scholarly journals Analysis of Cervical Spine Alignment Change after Modified Kurokawa Cervical Laminoplasty in the Patients with Cervical Myelopathy and Straight Cervical Spine

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Shangbin Cui ◽  
Fuxin Wei ◽  
Xizhe Liu ◽  
Shaoyu Liu

Laminoplasty is widely used to decompress the spinal cord in patients with multilevel cervical lesions. Straight cervical alignment may not be a good candidate for laminoplasty because of postoperation progression of kyphosis and loss of cervical spine range of motion (ROM). However, clinical outcomes of laminoplasty did not show a strong and consistent effect based on cervical sagittal alignment. Moreover, the kyphosis progression and ROM change after operation for the patients with preoperative strange cervical alignment are still unclear. This study is to evaluate the change of cervical alignment and ROM in patients with straight cervical alignment after modified Kurokawa cervical laminoplasty. Thirty patients with multiple-level cervical spondylosis (CSM) and straight cervical alignment were included. All patients underwent laminoplasty with the reconstruction of the spinous process-ligament-muscular complex (SPLMC). The modified JOA score was analyzed for clinical assessment. The change of cervical alignment, ROM, T1 slope, and intervertebral disc space Cobb angle were analyzed for radiological assessment. The average JOA score at preoperative and 2 years follow-up were 7.8 ± 1.4 and 13.6 ± 2.1 , respectively. The recovery ratio was 63%. At the 2 years follow-up, there were 18 patients who acquired lordotic cervical alignment. 10 patients remained as straight cervical curve, and 2 patients’ cervical alignment developed mild kyphosis. 28 out of 30 patients showed improvement of cervical alignment. The cervical alignment was improved from 1.29 ± 10.04 ° preoperative to 9.58 ± 8.65 ° postoperative. However, the ROM decreased from 36.8 ± 18.92 preoperative to 25.08 ± 12.10 ° postoperative. A positive correlation was found between the C2/4 angle change and cervical alignment change, T1 slope and cervical alignment, cervical alignment, and neutral position flexion reserved ROM. A negative correlation was found between the C1/2 angle change and cervical alignment change. Laminoplasty with a reconstruction of SPLMC followed by appropriate postoperative muscle exercises may be an encouraging way to maintain or improve physiological alignment and prevent postoperation kyphosis deformity at 2 years follow-up.

2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Goto ◽  
Kenji Ohata ◽  
Toshihiro Takami ◽  
Misao Nishikawa ◽  
Naohiro Tsuyuguchi ◽  
...  

Object. The authors describe a new surgical technique for cervical laminoplasty that was performed in 25 patients. The posterior elements along with the various ligaments are removed en bloc and are stabilized in a lift-up position by placing hydroxyapatite (HA) laminar spacers and titanium miniplates and screws. The procedure and clinical results are discussed. Methods. The posterior spinal elements, including the lamina(e), spinous process(es), and various attached ligaments, are removed en bloc by incising the lamina in its lateral aspect. Trapezoid-shaped HA spacers are placed between the cut ends of the laminae or between the laminae and lateral masses bilaterally at each level. Malleable titanium miniplates and screws are used for fixation of the spacers. The fixation of transected laminae was judged to be successful. Postoperative care included application of a soft neck collar for 1 week but no further restriction of activity. Surgery-related outcome was assessed in the 21 patients who attended more than 6 months of follow up after laminoplasty. There were 18 men and three women who ranged in age from 27 to 81 years. Cervical stenotic myelopathy was demonstrated in 15 patients who underwent decompressive and expansive laminoplasty, and spinal tumors were documented in six patients who underwent a nonexpansive laminoplasty. Postoperative and follow-up computerized tomography scans demonstrated no hardware failure. Bone formation around the spacers was observed either at 6- or at 9-month follow-up examination in all 21 patients. Fusion of the reconstructed laminae was found to be completed at 12 months in all 18 patients able to attend follow up for this duration. Spinal alignment and the range of motion of the cervical spine were well preserved. In patients with stenotic cervical myelopathy, neurological and anatomical outcome of canal expansion were satisfactory. Conclusions. This technique enables rigid laminoplasty while maintaining anatomical and biomechanical integrity of posterior elements of cervical spine. Expansive and nonexpansive laminoplasty procedures are possible.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Hyun Noh ◽  
Jeong Yoon Park ◽  
Sung Uk Kuh ◽  
Dong Kyu Chin ◽  
Keun Su Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Many patients with cervical radiculopathy experience stenosis of the neural foramens due to cumulative osteophyte or uncovertebral joint hypertrophy. For cervical foraminal stenosis, complete uncinate process resection (UPR) is often conducted concurrently with anterior discectomy and fusion (ACDF). The aim of this study was to assess the clinical and radiological outcomes of ACDF with complete UPR versus ACDF without UPR. Methods: In total, 105 patients who performed one-level ACDF with a cage-and-plate construct between 2011 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 37 patients had ACDF with complete UPR, and 68 patients had ACDF without UPR. Radiologic outcomes of disc height, C2–C7 lordosis, T1 slope, C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), center of the sella turcica–C7 SVA (St-SVA), spino-cranial angle (SCA), and fusion rate were evaluated on plain X-ray at pre-operation, immediately post-operation, and at 2-year follow-up. For statistically matched pairs analysis, ACDF with UPR group (24 patients) and ACDF without UPR (24 patients) were compared.Results: All of the clinical parameters improved at the 2-year follow up (P<0.0001). Improvement in visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for arm pain was significantly improved in the ACDF with complete UPR group immediately post-operation. All cervical sagittal parameters, including cervical lordosis, segmental angle, disc height, C2-C7 SVA, St-SVA, T1 slope, and SCA, except for preoperative St-SVA, SCA, and disc height of 2 years follow-up, were similar between the ACDF with complete UPR and ACDF without UPR groups. Differences in disc height, C2-C7 SVA, and SCA at 2-year follow up after preoperative examination, however, were statistically significant (p<0.05). Subsidence occurred in 9 patients (ACDF with complete UPR: 8 cases [33%] versus ACDF without UPR: 1 cases [4%]; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Cervical sagittal alignment after ACDF with complete UPR is not significantly different from that achieved with ACDF without UPR. However, subsidence appears to occur more often after ACDF with complete UPR than after ACDF without UPR, although with little to no clinical impact. More precise and careful selection of patients is needed when deciding on additional complete UPR.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Yu ◽  
Xiaohui Tao

Abstract Background. Dysphagia after cervical spinal surgery is one of highly prevalent comorbidities in clinical practice. Studies suggest that excessive O-C2 angle change at occipital-cervical fusion causes the oropharyngeal volume reduction leading to severe dysphagia and even respiratory distress after operation. However, rare study has accessed the impact of C2-C7 angle change on the occurrence of dysphagia after anterior cervical spinal surgery. Methods. From June 2007 to May 2010, A total of 198 patients was treated with anterior cervical decompression and plate fixation and 12 months follow-up was completed in 172 patients. Within the same session, a total of 154 patients underwent anterior cervical disc replacement and at least 1-year follow-up was completed in 98 patients. All 270 patients who participated in this study completed a questionnaire (Bazaz dysphagia questionnaire) after telephone follow-up including the onset and time of appearance of dysphagia, symptom relief, treatment plan and so on. To determine whether excessive cervical lordosis change (change of C2-C7 angle) and other risk factors were associated with the dysphagia symptom, all patients were divided into the dysphagia group and the control group, followed over 12 months.Results. The results showed that 12.8% presented with postoperative dysphagia in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) group and 5.1% in cervical disc replacement (CDR) group. According to the regression equation, the excessive change of C2-C7 angle can significantly increase the incidence rate of postoperative dysphagia. The incidence rate of postoperative dysphagia in patients whose C2-C7 angle change more than 5 degree was significantly greater than patients less than 5 degree. Sex, age, BMI, operation time, blood loss, surgery approach (anterior/posterior), revision ratio, the number of surgical segments, the highest surgical segment, and C3 segment included or not cannot affect the occurrence of dysphagia. Conclusions. Dysphagia after cervical spinal surgery is one of highly prevalent comorbidities. Cervical lordosis change is an important influencing factor on the occurrence of dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery.


Author(s):  
Shi-zhou Zhao ◽  
Bang-ping Qian ◽  
Ji-chen Huang ◽  
Mu Qiao ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE Both unchanged upper cervical lordosis combined with decreased lower cervical lordosis and decreased upper cervical lordosis combined with decreased lower cervical lordosis have been reported to occur after correction surgery for adult spinal deformity. However, variations in cervical alignment after correction surgery in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have not been investigated. The current study aimed to investigate the variations in cervical alignment following the correction surgery in AS patients with thoracolumbar kyphosis. METHODS Patients with AS who underwent pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) for thoracolumbar kyphosis from June 2016 to June 2019 with a minimum of 1-year follow-up were reviewed. Patients were grouped according to the presence (ossified group) and absence (non-ossified group) of total ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament (ALL) in the lower cervical spine. Radiographic parameters, including thoracolumbar, craniocervical, and global radiographic parameters, were measured on lateral sitting EOS images. RESULTS Thirty-two patients (27 males and 5 females) with a mean follow-up of 1.5 years were identified. There were 21 patients in the non-ossified group and 11 patients in the ossified group. After PSO, both groups showed a decrease in the occiput–C7 angle (p < 0.001 for both). In the non-ossified group, the C2–7 angle decreased significantly (p < 0.001), while the occiput–C2 angle remained unchanged (p = 0.570). In the ossified group, the occiput–C2 angle decreased significantly (p < 0.001), while C2–7 angle remained unchanged (p = 0.311). In addition, the change in occiput–C2 was correlated with the osteotomy angle in the ossified group (R = 0.776, p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS The variation patterns of cervical alignment following correction surgery for AS-related thoracolumbar kyphosis were different based on patients with or without total ossification of ALL in the lower cervical spine. When planning PSO for patients in the ossified group, restoration of the physiological upper cervical lordosis angle could be achieved by adjusting the osteotomy angle.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Sun ◽  
Peng Liu ◽  
Zhaolin Wang ◽  
Jie Cheng ◽  
Jianhui Mou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: To identify the relationship between T1 slope and the sagittal alignment parameters of the upper and subaxial cervical spine in patients with cervical lordosis and kyphosis.Methods: Relevant sagittal radiographic parameters pertaining to patients with non-specific neck pain but with no associated neurogenic symptoms were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were categorized into lordotic alignment and kyphotic alignment groups based on the C2-C7 Cobb. Correlation among radiographic variables was assessed with the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis. Between-group differences with respect to cervical alignment parameters were assessed with One-way Analysis of Variance.Results: Intra-observer and inter-observer agreement (two independent observers) was rated as excellent (kappa: 0.91 - 0.93). Inter-observer agreement for the two independent observers was rated as and substantial (kappa: 0.79 - 0.80), respectively. Significant between-group differences were observed with respect to C0-C1 angle, C1-C2 angle, C0-C2 angle, C2-C7 SVA (sagittal vertical axis) and TS-CL (T1 slope minus cervical lordosis) (P<0.01 for all), but not with respect to T1S (T1 slope) (P=0.367). In both groups, C2-C7 SVA showed a significant linear correlation with T1S (r2=0.712 vs. r2=0.467) and TS-CL (r2=0.810 vs. r2=0.248).Conclusion: This study showed that the two cervical alignment types (lordosis and kyphosis) have different angular variation in upper and subaxial cervical spine. With the increase in T1 slope, the upper cervical C0-C2 Cobb angle and the C2-7 SVA in the lordotic group were significantly higher than that of the kyphotic group. TS-CL mismatch may significantly impact lordotic cervical alignment in patients with lordosis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Themistocles S. Protopsaltis ◽  
Justin K. Scheer ◽  
Jamie S. Terran ◽  
Justin S. Smith ◽  
D. Kojo Hamilton ◽  
...  

OBJECT Regional cervical sagittal alignment (C2–7 sagittal vertical axis [SVA]) has been shown to correlate with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The study objective was to examine the relationship between cervical and thoracolumbar alignment parameters with HRQOL among patients with operative and nonoperative adult thoracolumbar deformity. METHODS This is a multicenter prospective data collection of consecutive patients with adult thoracolumbar spinal deformity. Clinical measures of disability included the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Scoliosis Research Society-22 Patient Questionnaire (SRS-22), and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Cervical radiographic parameters were correlated with global sagittal parameters within the nonoperative and operative cohorts. A partial correlation analysis was performed controlling for C-7 SVA. The operative group was subanalyzed by the magnitude of global deformity (C-7 SVA ≥ 5 cm vs < 5 cm). RESULTS A total of 318 patients were included (186 operative and 132 nonoperative). The mean age was 55.4 ± 14.9 years. Operative patients had significantly worse baseline HRQOL and significantly larger C-7 SVA, pelvic tilt (PT), mismatch between pelvic incidence and lumbar lordosis (PI-LL), and C2-7 SVA. The operative patients with baseline C-7 SVA ≥ 5 cm had significantly larger C2-7 lordosis (CL), C2-7 SVA, C-7 SVA, PI-LL, and PT than patients with a normal C-7 SVA. For all patients, baseline C2-7 SVA and CL significantly correlated with baseline ODI, Physical Component Summary (PCS), SRS Activity domain, and SRS Appearance domain. Baseline C2-7 SVA also correlated with SRS Pain and SRS Total. For the operative patients with baseline C-7 SVA ≥ 5 cm, the 2-year C2-7 SVA significantly correlated with 2-year Mental Component Summary, SRS Mental, SRS Satisfaction, and decreases in ODI. Decreases in C2-7 SVA at 2 years significantly correlated with lower ODI at 2 years. Using partial correlations while controlling for C-7 SVA, the C2-7 SVA correlated significantly with baseline ODI (r = 0.211, p = 0.002), PCS (r = −0.178, p = 0.009), and SRS Activity (r = −0.145, p = 0.034) for the entire cohort. In the subset of operative patients with larger thoracolumbar deformities, the change in C2-7 SVA correlated with change in ODI (r = −0.311, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS Changes in cervical lordosis correlate to HRQOL improvements in thoracolumbar deformity patients at 2-year follow-up. Regional cervical sagittal parameters such as CL and C2–7 SVA are correlated with clinical measures of regional disability and health status in patients with adult thoracolumbar scoliosis. This effect may be direct or a reciprocal effect of the underlying global deformities on regional cervical alignment. However, the partial correlation analysis, controlling for the magnitude of the thoracolumbar deformity, suggests that there is a direct effect of cervical alignment on health measures. Improvements in regional cervical alignment postoperatively correlated positively with improved HRQOL.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Hyun Noh ◽  
Jeong Yoon Park ◽  
Sung Uk Kuh ◽  
Dong Kyu Chin ◽  
Keun Su Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Many patients with cervical radiculopathy experience stenosis of the neural foramens due to cumulative osteophyte or uncovertebral joint hypertrophy. For cervical foraminal stenosis, complete uncinate process resection (UPR) is often conducted concurrently with anterior discectomy and fusion (ACDF). The aim of this study was to assess the clinical and radiological outcomes of ACDF with complete UPR versus ACDF without UPR. Methods: In total, 105 patients who performed one-level ACDF with a cage-and-plate construct between 2011 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 37 patients had ACDF with complete UPR, and 68 patients had ACDF without UPR. Radiologic outcomes of disc height, C2–C7 lordosis, T1 slope, C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), center of the sella turcica–C7 SVA (St-SVA), spino-cranial angle (SCA), and fusion rate were evaluated on plain X-ray at pre-operation, immediately post-operation, and at 2-year follow-up. For statistically matched pairs analysis, ACDF with UPR group (24 patients) and ACDF without UPR (24 patients) were compared. Results: All of the clinical parameters improved at the 2-year follow up (P<0.0001). Improvement in visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for arm pain was significantly improved in the ACDF with complete UPR group immediately post-operation. All cervical sagittal parameters, including cervical lordosis, segmental angle, disc height, C2-C7 SVA, St-SVA, T1 slope, and SCA, except for preoperative St-SVA, SCA, and disc height of 2 years follow-up, were similar between the ACDF with complete UPR and ACDF without UPR groups. Differences in disc height, C2-C7 SVA, and SCA at 2-year follow up after preoperative examination, however, were statistically significant (p<0.05). Subsidence occurred in 9 patients (ACDF with complete UPR: 8 cases [33%] versus ACDF without UPR: 1 cases [4%]; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Cervical sagittal alignment after ACDF with complete UPR is not significantly different from that achieved with ACDF without UPR. However, subsidence appears to occur more often after ACDF with complete UPR than after ACDF without UPR, although with little to no clinical impact. More precise and careful selection of patients is needed when deciding on additional complete UPR.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Hyun Noh ◽  
Jeong Yoon Park ◽  
Sung Uk Kuh ◽  
Dong Kyu Chin ◽  
Keun Su Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Many patients who appealed cervical radiculopathy have stenosis of neural foramens because of cumulative osteophyte or uncovertebral joint hypertrophy. For cervical foraminal stenosis, complete UPR conducted concurrently with ACDF. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological consequences of complete uncinate process resection (UPR) during anterior discectomy and fusion (ACDF) versus those seen with ACDF without UPR. Methods: In total, 105 patients who underwent one-level ACDF with a cage-and-plate construct between 2011 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 37 underwent ACDF with complete UPR, and 68 underwent ACDF without UPR. Radiographic parameters of disc height, C2–C7 lordosis, T1 slope, C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), center of the sellar turcica–C7 SVA (St-SVA), spinocranial angle (SCA), and fusion rate were measured on plain radiographs at pre-operation, immediately post-operation, and during the follow-up period (median follow-up duration: 37.7 ± 10.5 months). Results: Improvement in Visual analogue scale (VAS) score for arm pain was significantly better in the ACDF with complete UPR group immediately post-operation. Fusion rates, C2–C7 lordosis, T1 slope, and C2–C7 SVA after single-level ACDF were not significantly different between the two groups (p>0.05). Subsidence occurred in 23 patients (ACDF with complete UPR: 14 cases [37%] versus ACDF without UPR: 9 cases [13%]; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Cervical sagittal alignment after ACDF with complete UPR is not significantly different from that achieved with ACDF without UPR. However, subsidence occurred more frequently after ACDF with complete UPR than after ACDF without UPR, although there was no clinical impact. More precise and careful selection of patients is needed when deciding on additional complete UPR.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Kyu Lee ◽  
Dong Ah Shin ◽  
Seong Yi ◽  
Keung Nyun Kim ◽  
Hyun Chul Shin ◽  
...  

OBJECT The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between cervical spine sagittal alignment and clinical outcomes after cervical laminoplasty in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). METHODS Fifty consecutive patients who underwent a cervical laminoplasty for OPLL between January 2012 and January 2013 and who were followed up for at least 1 year were analyzed in this study. Standing plain radiographs of the cervical spine, CT (midsagittal view), and MRI (T2-weighted sagittal view) were obtained (anteroposterior, lateral, flexion, and extension) pre- and postoperatively. Cervical spine alignment was assessed with the following 3 parameters: the C2–7 Cobb angle, C2–7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), and T-1 slope minus C2–7 Cobb angle. The change in cervical sagittal alignment was defined as the difference between the post- and preoperative C2–7 Cobb angles, C2–7 SVAs, and T-1 slope minus C2–7 Cobb angles. Outcome assessments (visual analog scale [VAS], Oswestry Neck Disability Index [NDI], 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36], and Japanese Orthopaedic Association [JOA] scores) were obtained in all patients pre- and postoperatively. RESULTS The average patient age was 56.3 years (range 38–72 years). There were 34 male patients and 16 female patients. Cervical laminoplasty for OPLL helped alleviate radiculomyelopathy. Compared with the preoperative scores, improvement was seen in postoperative VAS and JOA scores. After laminoplasty, 35 patients had kyphotic changes, and 15 had lordotic changes. However, cervical sagittal alignment after laminoplasty was not significantly associated with clinical outcomes in terms of postoperative improvement of the JOA score (C2–7 Cobb angle: p = 0.633; C2–7 SVA: p = 0.817; T-1 slope minus C2–7 lordosis: p = 0.554), the SF-36 score (C2–7 Cobb angle: p = 0.554; C2–7 SVA: p = 0.793; T-1 slope minus C2–7 lordosis: p = 0.829), the VAS neck score (C2–7 Cobb angle: p = 0.263; C2–7 SVA: p = 0.716; T-1 slope minus C2–7 lordosis: p = 0.497), or the NDI score (C2–7 Cobb angle: p = 0.568; C2–7 SVA: p = 0.279; T-1 slope minus C2–7 lordosis: p = 0.966). Similarly, the change in cervical sagittal alignment was not related to the JOA (p = 0.604), SF-36 (p = 0.308), VAS neck (p = 0.832), or NDI (p = 0.608) scores. CONCLUSIONS Cervical laminoplasty for OPLL improved radiculomyelopathy. Cervical laminoplasty increased the probability of cervical kyphotic alignment. However, cervical sagittal alignment and clinical outcomes were not clearly related.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 2655-2664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Yang ◽  
Ronald H. M. A. Bartels ◽  
Roland Donk ◽  
Mark P. Arts ◽  
Caroline M. W. Goedmakers ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Cervical spine surgery may affect sagittal alignment parameters and induce accelerated degeneration of the cervical spine. Cervical sagittal alignment parameters of surgical patients will be correlated with radiological adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) and with clinical outcome parameters. Methods Patients were analysed from two randomized, double-blinded trials comparing anterior cervical discectomy with arthroplasty (ACDA), with intervertebral cage (ACDF) and without intervertebral cage (ACD). C2–C7 lordosis, T1 slope, C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA) and the occipito-cervical angle (OCI) were determined as cervical sagittal alignment parameters. Radiological ASD was scored by the combination of decrease in disc height and anterior osteophyte formation. Neck disability index (NDI), SF-36 PCS and MCS were evaluated as clinical outcomes. Results The cervical sagittal alignment parameters were comparable between the three treatment groups, both at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. Irrespective of surgical method, C2–C7 lordosis was found to increase from 11° to 13°, but the other parameters remained stable during follow-up. Only the OCI was demonstrated to be associated with the presence and positive progression of radiological ASD, both at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. NDI, SF-36 PCS and MCS were demonstrated not to be correlated with cervical sagittal alignment. Likewise, a correlation with the value or change of the OCI was absent. Conclusion OCI, an important factor to maintain horizontal gaze, was demonstrated to be associated with radiological ASD, suggesting that the occipito-cervical angle influences accelerated cervical degeneration. Since OCI did not change after surgery, degeneration of the cervical spine may be predicted by the value of OCI. NECK trial Dutch Trial Register Number NTR1289. PROCON trial Trial Register Number ISRCTN41681847. Graphic abstract These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.


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